


The Call

by Rose Zanini (rosecallaghan)



Category: Flashpoint, Rookie Blue
Genre: Gen, Hostage Situation, andy whump, gail whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-23
Updated: 2014-06-25
Packaged: 2018-01-20 13:08:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 14,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1511675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosecallaghan/pseuds/Rose%20Zanini
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What starts out as a normal call for McNally and Peck turns into a hostage situation and team 1 gets called in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is already posted at ff.net. I might be a bit slow in updating since I haven't finished with the betaing just yet. I hope you enjoy!

The man stared her in the eyes. She looked stubbornly back into his eyes. He had enormous pupils and there was a ring of brown colour in the iris around it before it faded into green. She refused to look away first, this was her only way of controlling this situation.

The phone started ringing again.

"Come on, god dammit, answer the phone!" screamed the third person in the room.

"Actually, I think they aren't going to stop before you answer. Just listen to what they have to say, you don't have to do as they tell you. The ringing will stop at least." She said, trying to calm him down.

"Don't you think I know how this works? I answer that phone, and you're practically free. The 'good' side always wins, right?" He raised his hand again, enraged over the idea of letting her go.

"What do you want, sir? They might be able to help you." She said and continued to look him in the eyes. He hadn't looked away yet.

"I... I just want my brother back, you were supposed to help me get my brother back!" He shouted and stepped closer to the chair she was involuntary sitting in.

"Where is your brother sir? What is his name?"

"Stop talking, Hugh! Just stop talking to that bitch!" The other woman screamed just as the man, whose name apparently was Hugh, was opening his mouth to answer the question. He quickly closed his mouth again.

"So, Hugh. I think I might be able to help you. Do you want me to help you?" The woman in the chair asked. He nodded once.

"Then you're going to have to tell me your brother's name." He shook his head and finally broke the eye contact. His eyes darted to the other woman instead.

"Why did you say it?" He said.

"Say what?"

"My name."

"I'm so sorry, Hugh, it just slipped out." She said and moved towards him.

The woman in the chair was observing them closely. It was clear that the woman was in control. She was manipulating him, making him do as she asked.

The phone began to ring again. The chair woman lost her patience.

"Come on, just answer the damn phone already." She said and nodded towards the phone. The man looked at the other woman again. She nodded silently. He gave her the gun in his hands and went to answer the phone.

"Hello?" He said. "Yes. Uhm. I want my brother. No, I'm not going to release the hostage, do you think I'm stupid?!" He yelled and hung up the phone.

"They want proof of life." He then said and gave the woman in the chair a newspaper.

"Hold that." He said and backed away as the paper fell to the ground. She tried to regain some of her calmness.

"I can't hold it while my hands are tied up" she said calmly. He looked at her, then at the paper on the ground, and then at her again.

"I think you've talked enough, bitch." He said, took the duck tape and taped her mouth shut, just like he had taped her hands and feet to the chair. He then took the paper and taped is to her chest. Her eyes were burning with rage, but both he and the other woman laughed.

"Well honey, I think that new lipstick of yours suits you wonderfully." She said with a scornful smile. The tied up woman made some muffled noises that sounded suspiciously like swearing. The man took the phone out of his pocket and finally took a picture which he sent the cops outside.

The woman in the chair managed to loosen the tape around her hands a little. Her eyes were darting around the room, trying to find something that could help her although she knew that even if she found something, she wouldn't be able to reach it.  
The phone started ringing again.

"Just answer again. But put it on speaker this time." The other woman said. He just stared at her and didn't move. The phone continued to ring. The woman in the chair rolled her eyes.

"This is Jules Callaghan again. Am I speaking to the same person as the last time?" A female voice said as he finally picked up the phone again.

"Yes." The man said.

"So, what can I do for you? What was your name again?"

"I never told you that! You're not going to trick me!"

"Okay. Is the hostage okay?"

"Yes." He said grimly and looked at the woman in the chair.

"Can I talk to her please?" The female voice, Jules, asked. He looked at her again and sighed. The other woman ripped the duck tape of again. A little scream escaped the woman's lips. As soon as she made the noise, the other woman put another piece of duck tape over her mouth.

"Now I've given you proof of life. Twice." He said to Jules.

"Yes, thank you very much. I'm going to need your brother's name."

"No! I will not give you that!" He screamed. He put up his armed and shot once, in the roof.

"You will do as I ask. Not the other way around. I'm in control, remember?" He said.

"Yes, I remember. Is everyone okay in there?" Jules asked with a concerned voice.

"Yes. I'll give you five minutes. Five minutes and then I'm done." He said and hung up. The other woman hugged him.

"Yes. Good, babe. Very good. That went perfectly."

The woman in the chair rolled her eyes again. How did they think that he was going to get his brother if he didn't even give them a name? How stupid can people be?

They just sat there and waited for the five minutes to pass. She studied the room. It was approximately ten meters wide and five meters long. The walls were painted in an ugly yellow which made her want to throw up. It was lighter than the usual yellow, almost white, and it had a greenish tone that made it look a bit like the fading colour of vomit. The floor was made of linoleum in a just as ugly blue. It really wasn't pretty.

She was pulled from her thoughts as the man stood up and picked up the phone again.

"You've had five minutes." He said.

"Yes."

"Do you have my brother?"

"We can help you, but you have to tell me your name!" She said.

"I can't do that. Your time is up." he said and pointed the gun at the woman in the chair again.

"Wait, we can work this out, okay? Just wait, I can help you." Jules said desperately.

The gun went of and Andy McNally fell back with the chair as the force from the bullet hit her in the chest.


	2. The Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there, guys. Sorry that I haven't updated this in quite som time. Thank you all for sticking with me.
> 
> THANK YOU, RBCrazyFan for your wonderful betawork.

2 hours earlier

The atmosphere in the cruiser could be described as frosty at best. Gail was staring right in front of her as she was driving, Andy supposed she was still mad about the Nick thing. Since she had nothing better to do, she was staring out the window into the dark night.

"You know Nick and I broke up over a year ago, right?" Andy said and sighed inwardly. Wow, Andy, that was a real icebreaker, she thought.

"Yes." Gail curtly answered.

"Are you still mad?"

"Why would I be mad? He and I weren't together or anything." The atmosphere was getting even frostier, if possible.

"No, but you had a thing." Yeah, that was even better.

"Did we now? A thing, huh?" Gail was now staring at Andy instead of looking were she was driving.

"I'm sorry, it's none of my business. How are you and Holly doing?" Andy said, trying to change topics.

"We're doing great, not that that's your business."

"You're right, sorry."

The car was deadly quiet, but at least Gail was looking at the road again.

"Me and Sam are doing great. He was really glad he's back to work, I mean who likes sitting at home for a month, doing nothing while everybody else is out there? Well, any way, he's been back for a while now, and everything is great, you know?" Andy rambled.

"McNally, just stop, okay? We are not friends any more, so let's not pretend we are. And I really, really don't care about your relationship with Sam. So just stop talking about it." Gail burst out.

"Yeah, okay. Sure." Andy said, having to blink back tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks.

The radio interrupted the non-existing conversation. A 9-1-1 just came in. 273D at 60 Hilltop Road.

"That's not too far. Let's take the call." Gail said.

"15-08 responding to the 273D at 60 Hilltop Road." Andy said into the radio and turned the sirens on.

"I hate wife beaters."

"Me too."

 

Jules let go of Sam's hand just as they opened the doors to HQ. They, the sergeant and team leader of team one, had to show that they were professionals at work at the very least. They then set off to their separate changing rooms.

"Hi, Leah, you ready for some action?" Jules asked as she walked into the room. They were going on patrol today, so it would probably be a calm day.

"Yeah, Sarge, always. But I doubt we're going to see any today." Jules still flinched a little as Leah called her Sarge. The real Sarge, Greg Parker, had retired just one and a half year ago. He was now teaching at the police academy. It was for the best, he had started to doubt his decisions again and even though Jules still trusted him, and respected him, she knew that the police academy had grown much better with him there.

This had made Ed the Sergeant. Ed on the other hand had been shot in the leg last year, and had therefore been forced to retire, since his recovery was not likely. The bullet had shattered the bone and he would always walk with a pronounced limp. Ed was now behind a desk, he still was Jules' boss though. Her Captain to be precise.

And now Jules was the Sarge. And Sam was the team leader. This was something that they had first needed to learn how to handle, him taking orders from her since he had been her team leader for about a year while Ed was the Sergeant of the team. But it had now become routine, and they worked very well together. He could almost read her mind most of the time and new exactly where she wanted him and the rest of the team.

Jules sighed as she took her bag and went to the gym where the rest of the team already was. It could be a heavy burden, being the Sergeant. Everyone was her responsibility. If someone got hurt, that was on her. If a suspect got hurt, that was on her. If there was collateral damage, that was on her. She was the one that had to call scorpio if the situation required it.

She felt some of the heaviness that was lying on her lift as she looked at her team. They were good people.

Sam, who always stood by her side. She knew that he always had her back, no matter what.

Spike, the tech genius and her best friend. Their friendship had always been strong but over the last years, it had grown into a new dimension.

Leah, the loyal, powerful woman who always found her calm and knew what to do in the most daunting situations.

Joey Nelson, the person who had come to the team when Greg left. He could never replace Greg, no one could, not even Jules, but he had found his own place in the team. He was muscular, and mostly he and Leah were the ones that went in first.

And finally, Nick Collins, the rookie of the team. He had come to team 1 as Ed left, so half a year ago. He was mostly a sniper, like Sam. He had come from 15th division, because he had had some trouble with his girl. Just like Sam, he also was a veteran. This gave the men something in common and had contributed to their growing friendship.

Jules smiled as she put her ear buds in and cleared her mind. This was going to be a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll try to update soon :)


	3. Surprise, Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's such a short chapter, but this was the best way of ending it.

McNally got out of the cruiser and looked around. It was a cosy neighbourhood, neat little houses row after row. This was not where she would have expected a wife beater.

“Not what I expected...” She said.

“A lot more goes on here than most people think.” Gail said and narrowed her eyes as if she was trying to see through the pretty façade.

The sunshine added even more bizarreness to the situation. It was as if they had stepped into a horror film where they showed this perfect neighbourhood in the beginning that would soon turn into a nightmare. Andy was getting a bad feeling about this call.

“I think that's number 60 over there.” Andy pointed at the house right in front of them.

“Yes Sherlock, so do I.” Gail said and walked straight up to it.

“Gail, wait! I have a bad feeling about this. I think we should call for back up.”

“And tell them what? McNally has a bad feeling about this neighbourhood, please come and help us? No, Andy, we are not calling for back up.” She said irritably and grabbed Andy's arm to drag her towards the house.

“I still have a bad feeling.” Andy muttered under her breath as Gail pressed the door bell. The door immediately swung open but there was no one inside.

“Okay that bad feeling you have is starting to grow on me.” Gail said as she slowly started to walk inside. Andy quickly followed her. There was nothing unusual in the hallway, a racket with clothes, shoes, a little table with a vase on top. Just as Andy was turning around to reach for the door to close it, she heard a sweeping noise, something connected with the back of her head and everything grew black.

 

Jules knew that they would have just about half an hour in the gym, this was a late morning. Usually they came in much earlier since both Sam and her liked being in the gym for two hours or so before going out on patrol.

“Okay guys, that's all for today let's gear up and meet up in the meeting room!” Jules shouted to the others. She walked back to the changing rooms in silence.

“Hey Sarge! Wait up!” Leah called after her. Jules stopped and waited.

“Hey Leah, what's up?” She asked.

“Could you please not pair me up with Joey again?”

“I thought the two of you work well together, why don't you wanna be paired up with him?”

“It's silly really, never mind.”

“No tell me Leah. Why?”

“We do work well together.” Leah looked sheepishly at Jules. “Too well.”

“Oh no, please tell me you haven't slept with him!” Jules looked Leah in the eyes.

“No god no, I would never do that. I don't want to be transferred.” Jules saw that the other woman was telling the truth.

“Good.” They had gotten to the changing rooms and both women quickly changed into their work attires without further conversation.

 

In the meeting room, Jules was still feeling a little uneasy in Greg's old place.

“Today is patrol day, people, it's time to let everyone know that we're still out there.” Jules said.

“Patrol day is a good day.” Spike answered.

“Oh but Spike, you don't get to use a single one of your toys.” Sam said and smiled mockingly at Spike. Spike made a rather rude gesture.

“Boys, would you please stop playing and listen to me?” Jules said and the both of them immediately stopped. 

“Good. Now, Spike, you're with Sam today, Collins, you're with Leah and Joey, you will go with me. Is everybody okay with this arrangement?” She asked and raised an eyebrow at Leah who blushed and looked at the table.

“Well then, let's go keep the peace!” Jules said and of they were.


	4. Getting out

Gail was waking slowly and was immediately sorry for doing so. Her head was a white hot mass of pain and it only got worse every time she moved it. She could tell that she was sitting in a chair of some kind and that her hands were bound tightly to the arms of said chair. A faint moaning noise made her open her eyes and she saw that Andy McNally was tied up opposite her. She could not remember what she had done the day before to end up tied up opposite Andy of all people. And this headache was killing her. And now, on top of that, she heard footsteps coming down stairs.

“Ah, I see that you are awake. What a lovely surprise.” A man's voice said from somewhere behind her. She tried to turn but was unsuccessful. The man moved into her view. She tried to make out his features but it was too dark for her to see anything.

“I'll leave you two here for now. We don't want anyone to notice you, so please don't make any noises.” He said, turned around and left. 

Gail remembered now. She and Andy had been going in here and someone had knocked them out from behind. That was not very nice of them. She could feel a trickle of blood running down her face and could see that Andy too had blood running down the side of her face. She could not see much more in the little light that a single window let in from above. It was a small room and the window was located high up the wall in the farthest corner.

“Come on, Andy, I hate to admit it, but you were right to have a bad feeling. I could really use your help you know.” She said. Andy didn't react at all.

“Andy please wake up, you know that they don't permit sleeping on the job.” Still no reaction from the other woman. Gail was starting to think that there might be something seriously wrong with her.

“Officer McNally! Wake up!” She yelled, trying to get her to react by using her rank. No such luck. Gail then started working on the tape that was holding her on the chair. Her wrists were getting raw but she could tell that it was working.

After a few minutes of work she realised that this method, just turning her wrists from one side to the other only made her skin rawer. She instead bent down and started ripping threads out of the duct tape with her teeth. This was actually working and after ten more minutes, one of her hands was free. She almost screamed out in relief but held back as she remembered what the man had said about being quiet.

Quickly, she relieved herself of the other piece of duct tape and began assessing her other injuries. It seemed as though the man had been pretty careful with her since she could find no other injuries than the head.

Andy however did not seem so lucky. Her head wound was still bleeding freely and as Gail felt along her body, she swore that one knee seemed more swollen than the other. It was difficult to make out in the dim lighting though. Andy didn't even flinch during Gail's treatment which led her to believe that the head wound had resulted serious concussion.

“I'm sorry.” she whispered in Andy's ear as she left her there, taped to the chair. She feared that Andy would fall of the chair and possibly aggravate her head injury if she removed the tape, so she just left her sitting there as she went to get the chair that she had woken up in. She then moved to the window, stood on the chair and ripped of a part of her uniform in the midsection. Begging that the man wouldn't hear the noise of what she was about to do and wouldn't return while she was gone, she took the cloth, wrapped it around her fist and smashed the window. She heaved herself up in the window and out the other side, wincing as she cut herself.

When she finally saw the sun again she first had to lie down to catch her breath. A few minutes passed while she just lay there and she gathered that the man didn't hear her break out. When she could breathe again, she took a look at the cut in her leg. It was bleeding freely and went all the way from her hip to her knee.

“Damn it!” She hissed as she touched it. The cruiser suddenly looked to be farther away than ever. Slowly, she got herself up to her knees and began to crawl towards the cruiser. It took her what felt like an infinite amount of time but she finally made it there.

“This is officer Gail Peck. We have a 10-00! Officer down, I repeat officer down at our last location. Be aware, this is also a Code 2 and a hostage situation.” she said as she felt that she was finally losing consciousness again.

 

Just as everyone grabbed their gear and left the meeting room, the lights were blinking and Winnie's voice said “Team 1, gear up. We have a hot call.”. Jules sprang into action at once.

“We still ride in the same cars, Winnie, fill us in over the headphones, let's go people, let's go!” She yelled as she started running towards the garage.

“It's a hostage situation, Code 2, no lights no sirens.” Winnie said in her ear.

“I know what Code 2 means, Winnie, go on.” Jules said impatiently, motioning Joey that he should drive. He looked surprised but complied and she opened the passenger door.

“I know you do, boss, but the newbies are listening. It is also a 10-00.” Winnie continued.

“Do we know what happened? Is the officer involved in the hostage situation? Please don't tell me that the officer is the hostage!” Jules said. Joey was now steering out of the garage, following the instructions from the GPS.

“I'm sorry, but that is exactly what I am going to tell you. Officers McNally and Peck were responding to a 273D at 60 Hilltop Road when they were assaulted and knocked unconscious. Peck managed to escape and called it in. McNally was still unconscious when Peck left her.” Jules sighed when Winnie was finished.

“I hate it when our own are involved.” Jules said.

“I hear you.” Sam answered in her ear.

“Anyway, Sam, I want Leah or you as my second.” She said and listened to Sam as he arranged everyone's tactical positions.

“Joey, you're with Leah on entry. Spike, you're in the truck with you toys, see if you can make yourself useful from there. Collins, you and me are gonna look for sierra spots. If there are no spots, Leah you are team beta with Joey and Collins, you are team alpha with me. We will not go for the entry option until Jules has tried talking. Beta takes the back, alpha the front with Jules, understood?” 

“Yes!” Was the only answer Jules could hear as she moved out of the car to set up command in the truck Spike and Sam had brought.


	5. Unconsciousness

Once again Gail woke up immediately regretting that decision. As if it had been her decision. Someone kept poking her, and that was what had woken her up. She slowly opened her eyes, prepared for the pain but not quite expecting it to be as strong as it was. A female paramedic was standing over her.

"Hello, I'm Mikeala, I'm gonna take care of you, okay?" She said and met Gail's eyes.

"McNally?" Gail said with hoarse voice. The paramedic shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Officer, but she's still in there." She said and shouted something to another paramedic who was standing by the ambulance that was parked a few yards away.

The once so quiet neighbourhood was crowded. Sure, the police made sure that they could not be seen from the house where McNally was still being held but they were there. They all were there. It seemed like the whole Toronto police force had decided to come once they heard that one of their own was involved. But even through the street was full of cops, Gail didn't recognize any of the faces as her friends.

"Okay Officer Peck, you're gonna have to get on that stretcher. Do you think that you can stand up, or should I ask my partner to help me carry you up?" She asked and pointed at a stretcher that had appeared out of nowhere. Gail nodded and hoped Mikaela would understand. She did not.

"Do you mean yes, I can stand up or yes, get your partner?"

"Stand up." Gail said and rolled her eyes. It made the pain in her head worse and she hissed. Mikaela looked disapprovingly at her.

"Sure you can. Ey Steve, come over here a second!" She shouted and a good-looking man in a paramedics uniform came over.

"Come on Officer, we'll help you up." She said and grabbed one of Gail's arms. Steve quickly stepped around and grabbed the other. Together they managed to get her on the stretcher.

"It's Gail."

"Well then, Gail, let me take a look at that leg of yours." Mikaela said. She then grabbed a pair of scissors and cut Gail's pants of.

"Have you heard anything about McNally?" Gail asked. She had not taken her eyes of the house since she woke up.

"No, sorry. We haven't heard anything." Mikaela said.

"It's gonna be okay though. You see that bus over there? That's the SRU. I know them, they're good." Steve said at the same time.

"You know them? How?" Gail said, finally turning her eyes of the house.

"Well, I dated their sergeant once. She's good, trust me."

"Is it team one?"

"Yes. You know someone on team one?" Steve asked curiously when he saw that Gail relaxed.

"Yeah. A good friend of mine. I actually dated him once too." She gasped when Mikaela tightened the bandage she had wrapped around Gail's leg.

"Sorry, but I had to do that." She said.

"Don't worry, it's not that bad …" Gail said sleepily. "I think I'm gonna sleep now."

"No no no no no, don't sleep on me now, Gail." Mikaela said, her voice growing concerned.

"Shit, we've got to get her to the hospital, Steve!" Was the last thing Gail heard before she fell unconscious again.

FPRBFPRBFPRB

Jules narrowed her eyes when she saw Nick's face as she got out of the vehicle.

"Can I talk to you for a minute, Nick." She said and nodded to Sam to go to the truck and start working. Nick nodded and Jules moved away from the others, turning her microphone of.

"Okay Nick, turn of your mic and tell me what is going on." She said. He followed her orders and turned the mic of.

"Nothing's going on, boss, I'm okay."

"You don't look okay to me." She suspiciously narrowed her eyes again.

"I am okay though. I promise. I won't let my feelings get the best of me." He said and looked straight into her eyes.

"Do you know her?" She asked, not willing to let this go. He dropped his eyes.

"Yes, I know her, okay! I know both her and Peck! I dated both of them. McNally left me for her TO a year ago." He said, nearly yelled.

"Do you still have feelings for her?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. I still care for her, want her to be okay. At the same time, I can't forget what she did to me." He whispered.

"Okay, Nick. Now, can you do this job without letting those feelings affect you?" She asked, still trying to look him in the eyes.

"Yes." He said weakly, meeting her gaze. "Yes." He said again, more confident this time.

"Good. I'm counting on you, Nick, and so is McNally." Jules said. "Now go to the truck, get Sam and find me a sierra spot. Although I doubt you will find one here." She said and looked at the low buildings that were surrounding them.

Nick nodded, turned on his mic and moved to the truck. Jules sighed as she saw him leave. She loathed that she had to do that, but she needed to be okay that he was in his top form. With another sigh, she turned on her own mic again and moved towards the truck.

"Alright everybody, you know what to do." She said.

"Is everything okay?" Sam asked her with only a small note of concern in his voice. She smiled. Of course he would worry.

"Yes, Sam, everything is just fine." She said, opened the door to the truck and got in.

"What are you still doing here? Get moving!" She said when she saw Sam and Nick still standing inside the truck.

"Yes ma'am." Sam said with a huge smile plastered to his face. Leah and Joey were standing there as well.

"Okay, you two, make yourselves useful and see if there were any witnesses at all. I mean, someone must have at least seen Peck trying to get to the car." She said and nodded towards them.

"Yes ma'am" Leah said, mirroring Sam's grin. Joey just smiled and moved out of the truck behind Leah.


	6. Sleeping beauty awakes

She was waking up in pieces. It seemed as though her body couldn't decide to wake up fully just yet, so at first, her hands were awake. Then her feet, her arms, and at last, her head. With every appendage that awoke, a new pain flared through her body. Maybe that was why Andy's body couldn't wake up fully at once. Her knee and her head were especially bad, but her hands weren't much better. They felt huge, like they had been filled up with blood that couldn't flow out again.

She slowly opened her eyes and slammed them shut again when a wave of pain raged through her head. This was not going to be easy. At all. Again she tried to open her eyes, slower this time. She only opened them to small slits, the pain still manageable. The feeling about her hands, that they were filled up with blood that couldn't escape, turned out to be right. Her arms were tied to the chair she was sitting in, and her hands were swollen and slightly purple.

There were a few rays of sunlight coming in through a broken window a few metres over the floor. Andy was confused by this window somehow, but her brain just wasn't awake enough to get why. Blood was dripping from the broken edges of the glass, glittering in the sunlight before it fell on the obnoxiously baby blue floor. She counted the drops as they fell, hoping that the little mind exercise would make her wake up some more. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. If Gail was here, she would have told Andy that she was crazy.

Gail... Oh shit! Gail! Andy thought as she remembered what had happened. It all came back in a flash, the uneasy feeling she had as they approached the door, telling Gail that they needed to call for back up.

"I told you so." Andy muttered as she continued to study the blood dripping on the floor.

Blood. No. No, that could not be true. That could not be Gail's blood. Gail would not be stupid enough to climb through a broken window. She would realize that she could cut herself and decide against it. Right?

All the evidence was clearly against Andy's wishful thinking and she realized that she would have to accept that that was Gail's blood dripping from the window once she saw the chair standing in front of it, and the pieces of duct tape laying on the floor a few metres opposite from her.

Her headache grew worse (how was that even possible?) when footsteps came thundering down stairs. A few seconds later, a man ripped the door open and looked around the room. Andy was afraid his eyes would pop out of his head and land in her face when he noticed that Gail was gone.

"That little bitch." He hissed and quickly moved to Andy. She noticed that he had a roll of duct tape in his hands and knew what would come next. She prepared herself and kicked him in his groin. He stopped and now Andy really was afraid his eye might pop out. His face was turning into a colour that resembled that of Andy's hands as he leaned over. Andy struggled with her restraints, trying to get away while he was still incapable of moving. She had no such luck, her captor recovered more quickly than she thought he could and slapped her across the face. Andy blacked out. Again.

 

Jules and Spike were the only ones left in the command truck.

"Do we even know where in the house they are?" She asked and peaked at the blueprints of the house that were opened on Spike's computer.

"I'm gonna go outside, look for heat signatures, we could always ask that other Officer." He answered and moved over so that she could see the screen more clearly.

"Do so. I'm gonna go see if I can find Officer Peck. Check if she knows anything."

"Sorry Sarge, but it seems like Peck was just moved to the hospital. Apparently she deteriorated and they had to get her there quickly" Winnie replied before she could go outside after Spike.

"Do we have any idea who this guy is? Who is the owner of the house, Winnie?"

"The house is owned by one Jill Smith, but it seems like Jill Smith died of old age just a week ago. Nobody has claimed the house, and therefore the bank owns it for now." she said over the mic.

"So you're basically saying it could be anyone." Sam said.

"Yeah. Sorry Sarge."

"No need to be sorry, Winnie. Sam have you found a good sierra spot?"

"Negative. But we're still looking."

"Okay, Leah, Joey, have you found someone who saw something, anything?" Jules asked just as Spike came in again.

"No, nothing but a five year old who saw Officer Peck by the cruiser." Leah said, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Did he see anything else?"

"No, she said she didn't see anything but an officer laying by the car." Jules was starting to get a bit frustrated herself. So far, they didn't have anything.

"Spike, please tell me you have something."

"Yeah, I do. It's not good though. I found heat signatures. They're in the basement Jules." He said and rubbed his face. She quickly looked at the blueprints again and saw that there were two possibilities to get into the basement. One door and one window. The window was so small that only she and Leah would fit through though and it was just above the ground, so a sierra shot would be impossible. There were also two rooms, one with said window, and one with said door.

"Sam, don't bother searching for a sierra spot any more. Join Leah and Joey and get back to command when you're done." She said and then turned to Spike.

"McNally should have both a radio and a phone right?" She asked. Spike nodded.

"The radio will most likely be turned off though since the suspect would have heard everything that is going on otherwise. He would have replied I think." Jules nodded.

"Okay, find out her number." Spike turned to the computer, quickly typing something.

"Here it is." He said, pointing at the screen.

"I'm going to text her first, I would like him to be the one to make contact, I think he needs to be in control." She said.

This is Jules Callaghan Braddock with the Strategic Response Unit. Please call this number. We would like to know why you are doing this and how we could help you.

She hit send and hoped that the suspect would respond quickly.

"Does anyone have anything worth sharing?" She asked while she waited for a response.

"Negative." Sam's voice said.

"Negative." Leah said as well. Jules sighed. Her phone vibrated, a new text messaged in her inbox.

I don't want to talk to you. It said. She sighed again and hit call.

 

Andy woke up because something was ringing. Probably my ears, she thought and let herself drift away again.

The ringing did not stop. It seemed like it wasn't her ears after all. Slowly, carefully, she opened her eyes. Pain shot through her brain once again. The same man was sitting in the other end of the room, looking angrily at her phone that was laying on the floor a metre or so in front of him. He apparently had learned something from Gail's escape and Andy's kick since her feet were now taped to the chair along with her hands and her chest.

"It will stop ringing once you pick up." Andy said sarcastically. The ringing was not helping the pain in her head. At all.

"I am not stupid." He raged, moving closer to Andy and staring her in the eyes. She stared right back at him and did therefore not see the hand that came out of nowhere and once again struck her over the face. Pain, so intense that Andy screamed, shot through her.

The man, obviously still enraged, took her phone and threw it out of the window. A small tear escaped Andy's control when she saw her only hope flying out the window with that phone.


	7. Alone

Her captor had left, leaving her alone in the room. Suddenly she felt terribly lonely. When she had woken up this morning, Sam had already been gone. He was out somewhere, jogging most likely. He still wasn't back when Andy left for work. Yet he somehow managed to be there at parade. Maybe he had jogged to work and showered there, Andy didn't know because they hadn't really gotten a chance to talk.

After parade, she and Gail had been in that cruiser together. And there, Andy felt more lonely than she did on her own. The atmosphere had been so frosty that she felt like she got a frostbite. Then they had arrived in this hell hole, and Gail had not trusted Andy's gut enough to call for back up.

But the worst tribute to her lonely feelings was that Gail had left her here in the claws of her captor. She had left Andy unconscious, taped to a chair. Of course, some rational part of Andy's brain realized that Gail hadn't left because she wanted to, but because she had too. She might have saved Andy's life by leaving. If the phone was any indication, there was someone out there, trying to get her out of here. And that thought was what eventually made McNally think clearly again.

She tried to find a way out of there, but she couldn't even figure out how to get out of her chair. The duct tape was cutting of her blood flow both in her hands and in her feet. To prevent her from using her teeth, her captor had taped duct tape across her chest as well, so now she really couldn't move. At all. She guessed she was lucky he had not felt the need to tape her head to the chair as well.

And even if Andy was able to get out of the damn chair, she was pretty sure that she wouldn't get out of the room. Sure, she could get out the same way Gail did, but seeing her blood on the broken glass did not encourage her. Also, she wasn't sure that she would be able to heave herself up and out of the window. Her knee was throbbing and she wasn't even sure she could stand on it.

Andy leaned back, closed her eyes and hoped that somehow, someone would manage to get her out of there.

* * *

Jules was still in the truck, pacing as well as she could in the small space, when Sam and Leah came back. She stopped pacing and looked expectantly at them.

"We've got nothing, Sarge." Leah said, her eyes tired.

"Neither do we, sorry Jules." Sam said and looked at her apologetically.

"It's okay, nothing to be sorry for. It isn't your fault that nobody saw anything." She said and started pacing again.

"What are our options? Spike?" She said, stopped pacing and looked at the man in front of her.

"Well we could go in here, but I guess nobody is going to like that. We could also have someone crawl through this window, what do you think, Sam?" Spike answered and looked at his team leader.

"I don't like any of it. Only Jules and Leah are going to fit through that window, and I don't like the idea of any of you going in there alone at all. The door is almost worse, it leaves us no escape. The only advantage is that the suspects will have no escape either, but I don't think this guy is gonna want to be arrested, what do you think, Jules?"

"I think you're right. If his plan, which if I may remind you, we don't even know yet, doesn't work out, this guy is not going to let himself get arrested. I'm guessing he'll try suicide by cop." She said.

"You could always try screaming at him through the window, Sarge." Leah said. Jules nodded.

"There is something else we could try first though." She said as they got interrupted by Nick on the headsets.

" _Sorry to interrupt, boss, but I think you need to get out here and help me."_  He said.  _"Please?"_  He added, almost like an afterthought.

* * *

Sam had been in the cruiser with Nash when they heard Peck's panicked voice on the radio, practically begging for back up. Nash had turned to him with frightened eyes.

"Sam. Gail said there was an officer down. Andy was with Gail today." She had said, a tear tracing a path down her chin.

"I know, Traci, I know." He had said while pressing his foot on the accelerator as hard as he possibly could. They were thrown back in their seat by the force as the car shot forwards.

Now that he was here, on scene, things weren't going much better. Nobody would tell him anything. Oliver had been here, he heard, but he had gone after the ambulance to stay with Peck once he heard that she was in critical condition.

Traci was standing beside him, looking as lost as he felt. Someone was tugging his sleeve, trying to get his attention. He turned to his right and saw that is was Epstein.

"Hey, me and Chris are gonna go to the hospital, see if Gail's alright, keep us updated, okay! And if I were you, I'd look in that command truck over there." He said and started running towards his cruiser. Sam saw that Diaz was sitting on the driver's side, ready to go. Slowly he turned towards the command truck and started walking. His walking soon grew into running, as if his body was slowly waking up from the shock.

Two constables were standing in front of the truck, almost as if they were guarding it. Sam didn't recognize the guy on the left at first, but he soon realized that is was Collins.

"Collins! Please tell me that she's okay." Sam said, almost begging him to give Sam good news. He saw Nick touching his ear before he turned to Sam.

"I'm sorry Sam, I can't tell you that just yet. But I can tell you that we are doing everything we can." He said with controlled features. But Sam could see his own panic in Nick's eyes.

"You still care for her, don't you?" He said. Nick just kept looking him in the eye.

"Okay, don't admit it. But we both know that I do care. Very much so. So would you please just let me in there so I can hear for myself how Andy is doing?" He said and pointed at the command truck.

"I can't do that, Sam, you know that. Besides, what are you hoping to do in there? They can't tell you anything more than I can. And you're not going to be nearer her in there." Nick answered.

"Please Nick? Just please?" Sam said. However, he could see the stubbornness in Nick's eyes and he knew that he wasn't going to get in there any time soon. A new idea started forming in Sam's head. He turned away from Nick and once again started walking slowly. His steps soon became fast when he heard someone shout behind him.

"Sam? Where do you think you're going?" Nick shouted behind him. Sam continued moving towards the house.

"I have to get her out of there, Nick. Now." He said without stopping. Suddenly, he was thrown forwards and he felt someone laying on top of him.

"Sorry to interrupt, boss, but I think you need to get out here and help me." Nick said. Sam turned and tried to get out from his grip. "Please?" He heard Nick say.

A few moments and a few fruitless tries to get Nick to let him go later, he felt someone touch his arm. He turned and saw a woman in the same clothes that Nick was wearing.

"Hi there, Sam. I'm Jules. I understand that you are Andy's boyfriend?" She asked. Sam could only nod.

"Okay, Sam here is the deal: if you go in there, you will most likely kill her. This guy is not kidding, he is going to kill her if we go in there unprepared. Now if you want, you can stay in the command truck where you can see everything that is going on. Deal?" She said, motioned Nick to move of him and offered him a hand. Sam took it.

"Deal. You better get her out of there, Jules." He said and went to the command truck.


	8. Phones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There are mentions (and some descriptions) of torture in this chapter.

Andy woke up from her daze as she heard two sets of footsteps moving down the stairs that she now knew were somewhere outside that door. A few seconds later, the door opened again and her captor stepped into the room along with a woman Andy hadn't seen before.

"Well hello there, sweetheart, I know that we haven't met before, but I dare say, that outfits suits you quite nicely." She said with a British accent and a voice so sweet it made Andy want to throw up.

Andy didn't dignify her with an answer but decided that spitting in her face would be a good idea. The woman screamed and her face scrunched up in a disgusted grimace.

"Bloody hell." She screamed and moved behind the man. "Don't just stand there, do something." She said to him. He shrugged.

"Like what?"

"Are you really this stupid or are you just trying to annoy me?" She asked and moved forward again. When she was a few centimetres from Andy's face, she spat her in the face and slapped her. Luckily, she wasn't as strong as her male counterpart but the hit still got Andy to see some pretty stars. Andy was still disoriented but managed to spit at the woman once more out of spite. She did not like that. At all.

"Now, you are going to do something." She said and poked the man in the chest.

"Okay sweetheart, whatever you want." He said and stepped forward. The woman stood behind him, smiling smugly at Andy.

The man stopped a metre or so before Andy. He then lowered himself until his face was at the same height as Andy's.

"You're going to regret this." He said, took one of Andy's fingers, and bent until he no longer met any resistance. Andy's scream came a few milliseconds after the distinguishable snap of her finger breaking. She buckled under the tape and then fell back into the chair, panting.

"You asshole." She said and looked him in the eye. He just smiled and took another of Andy's fingers. She started breathing heavy while she waited for the pain that she knew would come. It did not disappoint. Her second finger, the ring finger, broke with a snap. She did not scream this time but fell back unto the chair again, panting heavily. She heard the woman laugh behind her but didn't care about anything but the pain in her fingers.

"Now that you have had your fun, sweetheart, let's go on with the plan." The man said and kissed the woman.

"Okay then, do you still have the number?" The woman asked. He nodded and pulled out a note with a number scribbled in a sloppy handwriting.

Just as he was reaching in his back pocket, something came flying through the window and hit him in the head.

* * *

It was Sam's turn to pace where Jules had before. He had been told that the man that was holding him company's name was Spike. He was sitting at his computer, typing as if his life depended on it. He then moved to a microphone a bit further away and spoke into it.

"2pm, phone was thrown in by Sergeant Jules Callaghan Braddock." he said. The computer turned his voice into letters as soon as he finished.

Jules had decided to throw in some special kind of phone that was bugged so they could keep up with the conversation in there from their side and contact the suspect at the same time.

" _Honey? Are you okay?"_  A woman's voice asked inside the house. Spike had turned both the conversation that was picked up by the phone and the conversation between the constables in team one on speakers so Sam could hear.

" _Yeah, I think so. What the hell is this?"_  A man's voice said.

" _What? Where did they come from. I thought we had two heat signatures before, Spike? What is this?"_  Jules said.

"I did have two heat signatures, both coming from the basement. Maybe McNally isn't in there." Spike said. Sam felt hope.

" _Or... Is Swarek listening to this, Spike?"_  Jules asked. Sam's blood froze in his veins when he realized what Jules was saying. That Andy might not have a heat signature because she was dead. But then he heard the most wonderful sound over the other connection. It was Andy's laughter.

By the sound of it, the whole team with sighing in relief when they all heard the laughter. Sam could hear that there was a strain to it, as if she was in pain, but it still was the most wonderful sound he had heard for a long, long time.

"2.03pm. The bug is active, Sergeant Callaghan Braddock starts calling the suspects. There are two suspects and one hostage that we know of. All three appear to be alive." Spike said into the microphone and smiled at Sam.

 


	9. Shots fired

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the story times up with the prologue. Enjoy!

Jules was standing outside the broken window, well aware that she did not need that bug to hear everything that was going on in there.

" _Get away from there, Jules, they're going to be suspicious if they hear you."_  Sam said. Jules quietly made a sign to Leah and moved out of earshot from the broken window. The room was quiet now, nobody was saying anything. The only thing they could hear over the bug was some heavy breathing that Jules guessed belonged to either McNally or the man who had gotten the phone to the head. She pressed the button to make the phone ring again. She heard Spike record her action but didn't think more of it.

 _"Come on, god dammit, answer the phone!"_ Someone screamed in the room.

 _"Actually, I think they aren't going to stop before you answer. Just listen to what they have to say, you don't have to do as they tell you. The ringing will stop at least."_ A woman said. Since she was making sense and didn't have the British accent, Jules thought that that must be McNally. She faintly heard laughter she didn't know too well and concluded that it must be Sam she was hearing over Spike's mic. That pretty much confirmed her theory.

 _"Don't you think I know how this works? I answer that phone, and you're practically free. The 'good' side always wins, right?"_ The manly voice said.

 _"What do you want, sir? They might be able to help you."_ The female voice that Jules presumed was McNally said.

 _"I... I just want my brother back, you were supposed to help me get my brother back!"_ The manly voice said.

" _He is escalating. But we finally know what he wants."_  Her husband said.

"Yeah. McNally is doing a great job, she might be able to calm him down."

 _"Where is your brother sir? What is his name?"_ McNally said.

 _"Stop talking, Hugh! Just stop talking to that bitch!"_ The woman with the British accent screamed.

"Spike! Find me every Hugh in this city! And then any connection to Jill Smith or to a British woman." Jules said as soon as she had a name.

" _On it."_  Spike said.

 _"So, Hugh. I think I might be able to help you. Do you want me to help you?"_ McNally responded calmly as if nothing had happened.

" _The British woman is not helping. At all."_  Joey said.

"I completely agree." Leah said beside her. Jules nodded and continued to listen to the conversation in the room. She hoped that someone would pick up soon. But no such luck. The phone stopped ringing.

 _"Then you're going to have to tell me your brother's name."_ McNally's voice said.

 _"Why did you say it?"_ The man said. Jules didn't quite follow whom he meant.

 _"Say what?"_  The Brit said.

 _"My name."_  Hugh said.

 _"I'm so sorry, Hugh, it just slipped out."_ She answered. Jules pressed call again and heard a groan over the bug.

 _"Come on, just answer the damn phone already."_ McNally said. She seemed to have lost her patience. Finally Jules heard someone connect. He had picked up.

 _"Hello?"_ The man said.

"Hello. This is Jules Callaghan Braddock with the Strategic Response Unit. Can you tell me your name?" Jules answered. The question went unanswered.

"No? Okay, will you tell me what you want?"

" _Yes. Uhm. I want my brother."_ He finally admitted.

" _I am checking all Hughes with brothers."_  Spike said on another frequency.

"Okay. Can we make a deal? You release Officer McNally, and I get you your brother? Or at least give me proof of life."

" _No, I'm not going to release the hostage, do you think I'm stupid?!"_ He yelled. There was a click that told Jules that he had hung up the phone.

"Okay Spike, did you find anything?" She asked as soon as she was clear.

 _"They want proof of life."_ Hugh said on the bug.

" _No, I still have too many results."_  Spike said.

 _"Hold that."_ Hugh said.

 _"I can't hold it while my hands are tied up"_ McNally said calmly.

" _Hey, Sam, buddy, it's okay. She sounds okay."_  Spike said, obviously trying to calm the man in the truck with him down. Jules tuned the sound out as she had learned so many years ago.

 _"I think you've talked enough, bitch."_ Hugh said. They then heard a ripping noise and some kind of whimper.

" _Jules..."_  Nick said, almost whimpering himself.

"Nick go help Spike with Sam in the truck." She said and concentrated on the bug again.

 _"Well honey, I think that new lipstick of yours suits you wonderfully."_ The Brit said. They heard some muffled noises and Jules pressed call again just as she got a text. It showed a tall brunette in police uniform. She had bruises on both her cheeks and on her jaw. There also was some blood on the side of her face and her mouth was taped shut. Hugh had taped a news paper across her chest to show the freshness of it all. The hand that could be seen in the picture was swollen and blue, not just because the circulation was cut off by the duct tape but also because of what looked suspiciously like broken fingers. Jules quickly forwarded the picture to her husband, knowing that he would somehow get it to Spike without letting Swarek and Nick see it. She needed to focus on this phone call.

 _"Just answer again. But put it on speaker this time."_ The British voice said.

"This is Jules Callaghan again. Am I speaking to the same person as the last time?" She said. She heard someone push the speaker button on the ugly thing that could barely be called a phone.

 _"Yes."_ Hugh said.

"So, what can I do for you? What was your name again?" She said although she already knew his name. But he was expecting her to ask, so she had to do it to not raise his suspicions.

 _"I never told you that! You're not going to trick me!"_ He said.

"Okay. Is the hostage okay?" She asked although she knew the answer to that too.

 _"Yes."_ He said grimly.

"Can I talk to her please?" Jules asked. She heard a sigh and then a ripping noise and a whimpering. She thought that she once again heard Sam through Spike's mic, but this time, he wasn't laughing. He was shouting Andy's name. Jules quickly tuned it out and focused on Hugh.

 _"Now I've given you proof of life. Twice."_ He said.

"Yes, thank you very much. I'm going to need your brother's name." She said, hoping that he would give it to her.

 _"No! I will not give you that!"_ Jules had to take out her headset and hold it a bit away from her ear because Hugh was screaming so loudly. She could see Leah wince beside her.

 _"You will do as I ask. Not the other way around. I'm in control, remember?"_ He said.

" _He's escalating again. We're ready on your go, Jules."_  Sam said. Jules signed Leah to tell him off.

"The boss says to wait." She said.

"Yes, I remember. Is everyone okay in there?" Jules asked with a concerned voice. She was afraid he might have done something to McNally in his anger. The picture clearly showed that that had happened before.

 _"Yes. I'll give you five minutes. Five minutes and then I'm done."_ He said and hung up. She heard Spike's sarcastic laughter in her ear.

" _Seriously? He isn't giving us his name, or his brothers name, and he is expecting us to find his brother in five minutes? How stupid is this man?"_ He said.

 _"Yes. Good, babe. Very good. That went perfectly."_  The Brit said on the bug.

"How are Swarek and Nick doing, Spike?" Jules asked with concern in her voice.

" _I'm fine, boss."_  Nick said grumpily.

"I am sure you are, Nick." She said soothingly and waited for an answer on Swarek.

" _Swarek is strong. Seriously, he hasn't reacted much at all."_  Spike answered.

" _He's always been like that."_  Nick said.

"You like him." Jules stated. Leah smiled at her and winked with one eye.

" _Yeah. Even though Andy left me for him."_  He responded softly.

" _Okay, enough talking about nice, fluffy things"_  Braddock interrupted sarcastically.  _"Nick and Swarek, you are under no circumstances to come out of that vehicle before I say so, is that clear?"_

Jules heard one  _"Yes sir!"_  and one more grumpy  _"Maybe"_.

"Spike, make sure they do as Sam says. Do you have anything more?" She asked.

" _I have narrowed it down to ten guys."_  He answered. Jules felt the phone ringing in her pocket.

"Shit. I have to answer. Continue, Spike!" She said and pressed the green button.

 _"You've had five minutes."_ Hugh said.

"Yes." She answered.

 _"Do you have my brother?"_  He said and she could hear that he was near the breaking point.

"We can help you, but you have to tell me your name!" She said desperately, trying to prevent him from doing the stupid thing she heard in his voice.

 _"I can't do that. Your time is up."_ He said and Jules could hear that he was giving up.

"Wait, we can work this out, okay? Just wait, I can help you." Jules said pleadingly, desperate to get him to listen. But she had already given up. She had dropped the phone and was running towards the small window.

"Don't do this, Hugh, don't do it!" She screamed. She could tell that her team was confused by her erratic behaviour, but she didn't care. She would not let this officer die on her watch. Leah was about 10 metres behind her as Jules dove inside the window. The shot went of at the same time. She could see McNally falling back with the chair and she cried out because it was so unfair. So unfair that she was a millisecond to late. So unfair that McNally had lost her life because Jules was too slow. So unfair that Jules would have to go out there and tell Sam that the love of his life was dead. She heard her husband yelling to her on the headset but she didn't hear anything, she just kept thinking So unfair. Just so unfair.


	10. Pain

No pain was surrounding her as she woke up this time. It was a nice change for once. There was a hand covering hers and a face lying on the pillow next to hers. As she slowly opened her eyes, a bit of the pain she'd felt earlier leaked into her mind. The person she loved was sleeping on the pillow next to her, obviously she had fallen asleep while waiting for her to wake up.

Gail smiled, continuing to look at Holly's peaceful face.

"I can tell you're looking at me, you know." Holly mumbled and rubbed her eyes.

"I didn't mean to wake you. Sorry." Gail said and kissed Holly.

"Hmm... You have nothing to be sorry for. I would have woken up sooner or later." She said against Gail's lips. Gail smiled.

"That's true. I have been observing that fact for quite some while now, and have come to the conclusion that you are right." She said with a twinkle in her eye.

"You're starting to sound like me." Holly said.

"You say that as if that's a bad thing." Gail said and kissed her once again. Holly grew quiet. Gail looked questionably at her.

"What?" She asked at last.

"I nearly lost you today." Holly said. She took Gail's hand in her own again. Gail paled when she remembered.

"Hey, are you okay? Are you in pain? I can call the nurse." Holly said, seeing the change in her girlfriends face immediately.

"No, I'm not in pain. Not that kind of pain at least. Have you heard anything about McNally?" She asked, looking pleadingly at Holly.

"No, babe, we haven't. I'm so sorry." She answered and kissed Gail's hand. "Dov told me what happened." She continued.

"Yeah. It was awful, Holly. I just left her there, all by herself in that chair." Gail said, tears running down her cheeks.

"Hey, none of this is your fault okay. It's the bastard who took you's fault, but certainly not yours." Holly said.

"My brain knows that. My heart is a different story." Gail answered. She knew that she was acting out of character and that that was most likely scaring Holly. She blamed it on the pain meds that they were giving her.

"It's gonna be okay." Holly whispered, over and over again, rocking Gail as well as she could with Gail being in the hospital bed and Holly sitting in the chair. Gail scooted over and patted on the bed beside her. Holly jumped up and stretched out beside her. Without another word, she folded her arms around Gail and held her until she fell asleep. Then, finally, she could relax as well and a few minutes late, she was also asleep again.

* * *

Everybody was screaming. Jules was screaming at her team to get in there. Sam was screaming at Nick to hold on to the other Sam and stay outside. Spike was screaming at Nick as well. Leah was screaming at Jules, asking if she was okay.

Those few milliseconds where she hadn't been able to do anything except thinking that it was unfair were over as fast as they had come. Jules drew her weapon faster than ever before and trained it on the man with the gun, Hugh she assumed. He kept pointing the gun at her. She could hear Andy struggling to take breaths behind her. At least that meant that she was still alive.

"Leah. Do you have the shot?" Jules asked calmly. Much more calmly than she felt.

"Yeah." Leah answered, just as calm. The screaming match was over and Jules could hear her husband and Joey move down the stairs. They opened the door just as Jules was moving over to McNally to see how grave her injuries were.

"Sam, Joey, take care of them." Was all Jules said before she moved over to McNally who was still struggling for her breath.  _It is a good sign. It's a good sign_. Jules kept reminding herself, hearing those painful breaths, when she finally looked at the woman before her.

* * *

Andy McNally was in pain. The pain was worse than anything she had ever felt before. With one exception.

 _It's funny_ , she thought,  _that it hurts more to see your loved ones hurt than to be hurt yourself._  Because, of course, the one exception was that day when Sam had been shot. That had hurt Andy on so many levels. And now this pain that she was feeling right now, this all consuming pain was only on a physical level. That was one out of the hundreds that had hurt when Sam had gotten shot.

She could see that moment flashing before her eyes now. That moment along with all the other moments in her life. But she had had a good life. She had found love, and that was all that she would ever need. It was okay to let go now. So just as she saw a woman's face hovering above her body, tears streaking down the woman's face, she decided to stop fighting. It wasn't really a decision and if she could, she would have chosen differently, but she was okay with that. She was okay with dying.


	11. Hospitalized

Sam had been sitting in the waiting room of the ER with about thirty other officers for an hour or so. When one of their own was injured, every officer in Toronto that wasn't on a call came to the ER to sit and wait with the family. Andy's father wasn't there yet, Sam had called him, but he was away somewhere.

**1 hour earlier**

Sam heard the gun shot and went mad. It took both Nick and Spike to hold him back in the truck, he just wanted to get to Andy. He heard everything that was going on since the headsets still were on speaker.

At first, everybody was screaming. Then everything went quiet. This was the worst part. Sam didn't have any idea what was going on in the house.

" _Leah. Do you have the shot?"_  He then heard Jules' calm voice say. Her calmness helped him a bit, if she was calm, it couldn't be that bad.

" _Yeah."_  Another calm, female voice answered. There was a pause and Sam was holding his breath while he was waiting for something, for someone to tell him that Andy was okay.

" _Sam, Joey, take care of them."_  Jules said and then everything was quiet again. It seemed like eternity to Sam before anybody spoke again.

Laughter. That's what he heard next. Laughter. Someone, it seemed like Jules, was laughing. Nick frowned beside him.

"Everything okay, boss? How is McNally?" He asked.

" _She was wearing a vest. Of course she was. She is on patrol,_ _officers always wear a vest on patrol."_  She answered. Sam felt that he could breathe easier again. But then the laughter stopped.

" _Come on, Andy, don't give up on me now!"_  Sam heard Jules say. He held his breath again and felt Nick do the same.  _"Where are those medics?"_ Jules asked.

"They're on their way." Spike answered as Sam saw a pair of medics move into the house.

" _Good. The slug hit the vest, Swarek. It didn't go through. My concern right now is that she isn't breathing. The force must have broken a rib that then punctured her lung."_ She said and then abruptly stopped and started talking to the medics.

* * *

The ride in the ambulance had been hectic, the medics, Sarah and Jolie, had tried to get Andy to breathe again. They had failed. The entire ride to the hospital, they had had to help her breathe with an ambu bag. And now nobody was telling Swarek anything. Jules and her team were sitting in the ER with him as well, they all wanted to know if Andy would pull through.

The blonde guy on her team had wrapped his arm around Jules who seemed to have fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. That was everything Sam wanted right now. To be able to wrap his arms around Andy and kiss her. To even touch her. A doctor came into the room. He was haggard and had lines of worry on his forehead.

"Family of Andy McNally?" He said and all the cops stood up. Oliver, who had been sitting beside him since he arrived at the hospital, pushed him towards the doctor.

"Sam Swarek?" He asked. All Sam could do was nod.

"I see that you're listed as Andy's emergency contact." He said. Sam nodded again.

"Is she... Is she alive?" He managed to ask. The doctor nodded grimly.

"She is in the ICU for now. But you can go see her if you want. I have to warn you though, it looks worse than it is."

"How bad is it?" Sam whispered.

"She broke three ribs from the force of the bullet. One of them punctured her right lung, that is why she wasn't breathing. We have her on a ventilator right now, but that is only for a day or so. The chest tube that we put in to relieve the pressure should be removed then as well. Her knee is pretty bad as well, she had torn some ligaments. It seems as though it was dislocated but relocated itself. She has two broken fingers on her right hand, the pinky and the ring finger." The doctor answered.

"Will she be okay?" Sam asked weakly, overwhelmed by the doctor's report.

"Yes. I believe she will recover fully. Now, do you want to go see her?" Sam nodded. He followed the doctor, almost in a trance, into a big room with lots of beds. There were patients in almost every single one, most of the had a lot of equipment around them. Some beds were made a bit more private with some sort of curtains.

"Here we are." The doctor said. Sam let himself fall into the chair that was standing by Andy's bed. He took her hand and then really looked at her.

She looked awful. There were all sorts of machines attached to her, all sorts of tubes running under her blanket. Sam was glad he couldn't see where they were going. She was pale and had dark rings under her eyes. He softly kissed her on her forehead.

"I love you, Andy. I love you." He whispered. She squeezed his hand.

"You're awake?" He asked. She didn't react.

* * *

There was a knock on Gail's door and both she and Holly murmured something incomprehensibly. Traci carefully opened the door and came in.

"Hey. Sorry to disturb you." She said, almost walking out the door again.

"No, no. Come on in." Gail said and waved at her.

"How are you doing?" Nash asked.

"I'm going to be okay. Don't worry about me. How is McNally doing?" She said. Holly started playing with her hair. It was nice.

"She's not doing so well right now. She's in the ICU, on a ventilator. She's got a punctured lung." Traci said sadly. Gail grew pale.

"What happened?" She asked.

"The bastard shot her. Thank god for Kevlar." Gail grew even paler.

"Have you seen her?" she asked and continued as Traci nodded. "How does she look?"

"Not so good. There are so many machines surrounding her. Hell, there is a machine breathing for her. She hasn't even woken up yet. She squeezed Sam's hand once, but that's the only reaction that we've got so far." She answered. Gail felt the trickle of a tear down her cheek. Holly immediately kissed it away. Gail knew that this also was out of character for her, but she still was on some pretty heavy pain meds and in combination with her PMS, she grew quite emotional.

"She wouldn't shut up about him this morning. She wouldn't shut up about anything. I wish I would have let her talk, I would give so much just to let her talk now." Gail said as more tears ran down her face.

"It's okay, Gail. The doctors say that she's going to be okay. Go back to sleep. When you wake up, she's going to be better." Traci promised, hoping that Andy would keep that promise for her. Gail did as Traci suggested and closed her eyes.

 


	12. Visitors welcome

Two days after first arriving at the hospital, Andy was moved into her own room. The ventilator and the chest tube were long gone, but sadly the pain wasn't so the pain medications moved into her room with her.

Sam had been by her side the entire time with the exception of a few bathroom and meal breaks when Traci had been sitting with her. She felt bad for them, the chair that was standing beside her bed in the ICU was as far from comfortable as one could come. They were both now sitting in her new room with her.

There was a knock on her door and a few seconds later, Gail came into the room in a wheelchair, Holly wheeling her in.

"Hi." She said, shyly. This was so out of character for Gail that Andy first was to shocked to respond.

"Uhm. Hi." She then said.

"Can I talk to you? Please?" Gail asked quietly. Once again, that was so not Gail.

"I am going to get some coffee, Sam, Holly, are you coming with me?" Traci asked, sensing that Gail wanted to talk to Andy alone. Both nodded and they all went out.

"Go on. Talk." Andy said, sounding meaner than she meant to. Gail seemed to slump even more in her chair.

"Hey Gail, it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong if that's what you're afraid of." Andy said, regretting her earlier words.

"I know that." Gail snapped. This was more like the old Gail they knew and loved. Andy smiled.

"Good. Then what is bothering you?"

"I meant to come back for you, you know. I didn't mean to leave you there by yourself." She said, looking down on the floor. Andy let out a breath she didn't know that she had been holding. A little sting of pain in her ribs told her that that had not been a good idea.

"I know. Or now I know. I hoped that you didn't leave me there on purpose. But I didn't know. You get what I mean." Andy rambled.

"Yeah. I wanted to come back but then I cut myself, and I barely made it to the squad car. There was no way that I could make it back as well." She said, clearly relieved to have the worries of her chest.

"I saw the blood and I figured it was something like that. I was afraid that you were... You know..." Andy couldn't say the words.

"I wasn't. Well obviously I wasn't dead." Gail said.

"Okay, can we agree that this has been awkward enough and just be friends?" Andy said. Gail nodded.

"Good. Thank you for saving our lives."

"You're welcome." Gail said and surprised Andy by moving the wheelchair to her bed, hugging her. At first Andy's arms just hang limply by her side, she was to surprised to do anything.

"Uh, okay. Well then. Friends." Andy said awkwardly while hugging Gail back.

"Yeah. Friends." The other woman answered.

* * *

Sam and Traci were sitting in her room once again. They were chatting happily about the latest gossip at the precinct and Andy was listening.

Once again, there was a knock on the door before someone stepped into the room. Andy recognized her as the woman who had been standing over her in the room before she blacked out. Sam got up from his chair and shook the woman's hand.

"Andy, this is Jules. Jules, Andy." Sam said, pointing between the two of them.

"It is very nice to finally meet you while you are aware that we are meeting, Andy." Jules said, smiling.

"It is nice to meet you too. And I was aware of meeting you. Kind of." Andy answered. Jules laughed.

"Yeah, I am sure you were. If I remember correctly, you were lying on the floor, unable to breathe before you went unconscious on me." She said.

"Oh but I do remember you."

"Well it is nice to be remembered." Jules said and brushed some hair out of her face.

"Thank you for doing everything you did." Sam said when an awkward silence was spreading through the room.

"I just did my job. I am happy that you are okay, Andy. I guess I should leave you to your friends here." She said, moving back from the bed.

"Thank you. Sam told me what you did for me. That fall through the window must have hurt." Andy said.

"Oh I didn't feel anything. I was too full of adrenalin to feel anything. Besides, what are a few bruises if you could save a life." Jules answered seriously.

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you weren't too late. I am still here. I would count that as a success if I were you." Andy said, suspecting that the other woman was blaming herself. Traci had been watching the whole exchange curiously.

"Thank you from me too. You saved my best friend." She said. Jules nodded and moved out of the room.


	13. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last part, I'm sorry that I haven't updated for a while.

Andy awkwardly hobbled into the café on her crutches. It was difficult to move with crutches while her hand was still in a cast, but it was either that or a wheelchair, and let's just say that was not an option Andy had even considered.

The woman that she was meeting had dark shadows under her eyes. Her face was fallen in and she looked as if she hadn't slept in a week. Andy hobbled to the table and sat down.

"Hello." She said.

"Hi." Jules answered. None of them said anything for a while.

"I'm sorry, Sam should not have called you." Jules said and stood up.

"No it's okay. Sit down." Andy said. Jules did as she was told.

"You look like crap. I am guessing that it had something to do with my case since Braddock called me." Andy said and looked into the other woman's eyes.

"Like I said, he should not have called you."

"How long has it been since you slept?" Andy asked. Jules rolled her eyes.

"A while." She answered.

"How long is a while?"

"A week or so." Jules said and rubbed her hand over her face.

"A week. You haven't slept for a week? How is that even possible?"

"Let's just say that every time I fall asleep, I see a certain someone get shot. Over and over and over again." Jules snapped. She immediately looked regretful and stood up once more.

"Look I am sorry that I bothered you." She said and turned to leave.

"Jules, wait. Tell me about your dream." Andy said, knowing that she would be the only one who could help Jules now.

Jules slowly turned around with a doubtful expression.

"Do you really want to hear about this?" She asked and looked at the other woman. Andy looked a bit like herself. Haggard and with dark rings underneath her eyes.

"I need to make some peace myself. Please just tell me what happened." Andy said.

"Okay. Okay." Jules said, repeating herself as if she needed convincing.

"I dove in through the window at the same time as that shot went off." She began.

"That's the last thing that I remember clearly, after that, everything is a blur." Andy said.

"I can imagine. I remember thinking that it was so unfair that you got shot. I don't know why but that was the only thing that I kept thinking about. I remember that I felt that I had to save you. Then everybody screamed at once. I don't remember what all of the screaming was about, but finally I moved over to you. I was so relieved when I saw that you had a vest on and I told Swarek that you were fine. But then you stopped breathing. I panicked and screamed at my team to get some medics down there. Then the medics were there, I was shoved out of the way and all I kept thinking was that I failed. I failed you, Andy." Jules said.

"I'm alive Jules. That's all that counts. Or so people keep telling me." Andy said, her voice free of emotions.

"That's not all that counts. You got shot and nearly died, Andy. Your brain is going to need some time to work through that." Jules said, looking her in the eye.

"I have gotten shot before. I mean, hell, I was wearing a vest. It didn't even bleed. I have no right to feel this way." Andy was almost screaming now. Jules put a hand on her arm to calm her down.

"Yes, but have you been this close to dying before? I am so sorry that I let this happen to you, Andy." She said.

"No, I guess I haven't. And you have nothing to be sorry for, Jules. You did everything you could." Andy said, calmer now. There still were some tears running down her face but she was glad to have said the words out loud.

"I should have talked him down. That is my job." Jules said sternly.

"Yes it is. But do you really believe that anyone could have talked Hugh down? He was batshit crazy, Jules. There was no talking him down."

"I know someone who could have done it, Andy. I am not meant for this job."

"Oh please Jules. There are going to be people who can't be saved. It is our job so save who we can and get over those we can't save. Can you do that? Can you get over this? I am alive, Jules. The mission was a success."

"I don't know Andy. I honestly don't know." Jules said.

"Well I hope you do. Because you're too damn good at you job to quit now."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes I do."

"Well then, Andy McNally, I might just get over your case." Jules said, smiling a careful little smile at Andy. Andy smiled back at her.

 


End file.
